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Helpful hints

A comment about comments

Thank
you to all who leave comments! I adore reading them and appreciate any and all
feedback. I also receive and appreciate your emails. I make every effort to answer all emailed questions, however comments are an easier and faster way to connect.. I've included instructions for leaving a comment further down..How to find an old post

I hope and pray every single day that people will read this paragraph about how to find past posts. I have felt the frustration associated with trying to find an old post on other blogs and as a result, I have tried to make this process as easy as possible on The French Tangerine. There
are several ways to locate an old post.

1. I categorize all posts into categories
listed in my sidebar. If you click on the category, you will be taken to a page
with all posts in that category. So, for example, if you are looking for a past inspired home, go to the inspired home category to find all past inspired home posts.

2. There
is a search bar in the sidebar. If you can remember anything about the
post, just type a remembered word (Mackenzie-Childs, restaurant or chandelier, for example) into the search bar and a list
of posts including that word will come up.

3. There
is a list, the blog archive, what I call from the beginning, in the sidebar. The blog archive lists every single post in
chronological order by month, from the very beginning. If you can remember the month, you can scroll
through the titles and see if something rings a bell.Categories

As mentioned above, I
painstakingly organize all past posts into inspired categories in the sidebar. I
can see via Google analytics that many readers spend time on the category pages looking through past
posts in specific categories. I can’t tell you how much joy this brings me. It
is the very reason I take the time to categorize past posts.. . to assist readers in helpful perusing and to make the site productive and interactive!Can I pin a photo from
your blog?

Yes,
yes, yes! You can pin any photo from The French Tangerine! I love Pinterest, I
use Pinterest, and I would be a complete hypocrite and weirdo if I didn’t want
my photos pinned on Pinterest. The whole point of this blog is to share inspiration. Pin away my friends, pin away!Posts (requests/guests)

Requests are flattering, but bottom line, if I’m not feeling you,
it’s just not going to happen. There are no
restrictions per se as to what I might post about… salted caramels, stationery, an artist, a
trip, a new purchase, pms, or a charming garden, you get the idea. But it has to come from my brain, has to be my inspiration.

I
get lots of requests for “guest posts” which I find a bit strange. I
love coming up with posts for my blog. It is a hobby I enjoy immensely and have come to take very
seriously. I believe that my visitors come to my blog because they feel a connection to me and what I post about. Allowing a third party to post (paid or not) sort of opens the floodgates to who knows what. If you have a big desire to be a part of this blog, I do offer advertising space in my side bar for a nominal fee. Subscribe

It
is hilarious to me that readers are afraid to click “subscribe” for fear of being charged monthly for the rest of their lives. Friends, there
is no charge to subscribe. It only means you will receive an email anytime a
new post goes up. That’s it. It's simply a convenience offered to you. Subscribers

PLEASE,
I beg of you, please click the title of the post when you receive the email,
and read the post from the actual website. It pains me to think that readers
are not seeing my post as it was intended; from my blog page, with the pretty
green background, the endless information in my sidebar, and my latest
banner. PLEASE, don’t read the posts in the email with the white background and
no banner and no sidebar. Boo hoo on you if you do..Sponsor The French Tangerine

It's straight up crazy not to advertise with these ridiculously low rates. $300 for a year of exposure to hundreds of thousands of visitors who
have fingers and click links? Serious craziness.

My Favorites = best blogs

The blogs I have listed in my sidebar are my favorite blogs. Although I follow
many more, I want easy access to these favorites for a quick fix,
a zippy update. In my sidebar, they are just a click away...

And
yes, I update my favorite blogs. Regularly.How to make a banner/mosaic

I have had great success with Big Huge Labs. I was suicidal after Picnik closed, but Big Huge Labs saved the day and I have made tons of banners and mosaics and have fully recovered...

bighugelabs.comClick on the link above and then click Mosaic Maker. Choose a layout. I use square tiles the most. Then choose the amount of columns and rows you want. My banners are usually 4 or 5 columns and 1 row. Depending on how many photos I'm using, I sometimes do 4x4 or 5x5 for mosaics. You can determine the space between the images, and choose the color for that space. Choose and upload your photos, and click create. You can then go back and edit until you get it right. Then save to your desktop or wherever you keep your photos!New to blogs?

For
new readers and visitors, I am including basic information about how to leave a
comment and how to use the sidebar.

~ How to leave a comment:

At the end of each post, you will see the word COMMENTS at the bottom, usually with a number in front indicating the number of comments already published. Click the word COMMENTS. This opens up a window where you can see all the comments and at the bottom, a box where you can leave your own comment. Type your comment and choose an identity. (google account or other) Click Publish Your Comment. I have comment moderation enabled, so I will have to approve your comment, and I usually do so immediately. Due to the unusual amount of strange spam comments, comment moderation is the lesser of two evils.

~ Social media bar/Clicking: See the adorable tangerines in the sidebar with icons in them? Well, if you
click on each of those, they help you get somewhere else. The camera takes you to my instagram page. The f takes you to my facebook page. (If you like me, "like" me!)The bird takes you to my
twitter pageThe P takes you to my Pinterest page (do visit if you haven’t
already – loads of inspiration to be found!) The heart takes you to bloglovin’ where
you can sign up to receive your favorite blog posts all in one spot.

Below the banner are links that can be clicked on.

Each word links you to the appropriate coordinating information. (You must have clicked on helpful hints to get here, so this information could very well be ridiculous and unnecessary.) Home takes you back to the home page with the current post About is where you can stalk meEmail me is where you can, well, email me Subscribe is where you can sign up to receive posts by email Sponsor is where you can find out more about advertising on TFT

The sponsors box has all my sponsors listed beneath. Each sponsor links to their
website… Visit them anytime! The categories box has all the inspired categories listed beneath where I organize my posts by category, for easier access and productive
perusing. From the beginning lists every single post ever written,
in chronological order. My favorites lists my current favorite blogsThere are a few
more tidbits that are either self explanatory or not worth mentioning here...

~ visit my shop online ~

~ follow me ~

5
comments:

Hi Jan, I love your blog, and found it from Tina's blog at Enchanted home. I have enjoyed going thru all of your posts. I noticed a table on your back porch, that I have been searching for sometime now, it is black iron (scroll design) and it looks like a marble top. Can you remember where you purchased it from? I would love to know. thanks again for the very thoughtful and informative blog.....Cindy Weis

Hi Jan, I love your blog, and just started to enjoy it thru Tina at Enchanted Home. Your style is very similar to mine, and appreciate all of your tips and posts. I did notice on your back porch you have a beautiful accent table, it has black scroll iron legs and then it looks like a marble top. Do you remember where you purchased that piece from? I have been looking for sometime and can't find one. I would appreciate your help. Regards, Cindy Weis

Wonderful explanations on this page. Simple, straightforward, and action-oriented. I found your page when researching Carolyne Roehm, who inspires much of my work. I see she inspires you as well! Anyway, it's been a fun morning on your site. Have subscribed and will be reading more soon!